Question

How does the overall charge of oxygen-16 compared to oxygen-17?

a. Oxygen-16 has a higher positive charge
b. Oxygen-17 has a higher positive charge
c. They have the same charge
d. Oxygen-16 has a higher negative charge

Answer 1

Both oxygen-16 and oxygen-17 have the same charge because the charge of an atom depends on the number of protons and electrons, not neutrons. They both have 8 protons and 8 electrons in their neutral state, despite the different neutron number.

Step-by-step explanation:

The overall charge of an atom is determined by the number of protons and electrons it has, not by the number of neutrons. Therefore, both oxygen-16 and oxygen-17 have the same charge because they both have 8 protons and typically 8 electrons in their neutral state; the difference between them is just the number of neutrons. Thus, the correct answer is c. They have the same charge.

The different examples given in the question pertain to various situations involving charge and oxygen atoms. For instance, when discussing polar covalent bonds in water (​H2O​), oxygen has a higher electronegativity than hydrogen, which means it attracts the bonding electrons more strongly. This results in oxygen having a partial negative charge, and the hydrogens having a partial positive charge. However, in a neutral atom of oxygen, whether it's oxygen-16 or oxygen-17, the number of protons (which are positively charged) equals the number of electrons (which are negatively charged), leading to a net charge of zero.

Answer 2

The overall charges of oxygen-16 and oxygen-17 are the same when they are neutral atoms, as both have 8 protons and 8 electrons. The neutron number does not affect the charge of an atom. The charge of an ion would be quantized, meaning it should be an integer multiple of the electron's charge.

Step-by-step explanation:

The overall charges of oxygen-16 and oxygen-17 are actually the same when we consider neutral atoms, because the charge of an atom is determined by the balance between protons and electrons. Both oxygen isotopes have 8 protons; oxygen-16 has 8 neutrons and 8 electrons, while oxygen-17 has 9 neutrons and 8 electrons. The additional neutron in oxygen-17 does not affect the charge—it only contributes to the atomic mass. Hence, both isotopes have no net charge as neutral atoms. However, when considering ions, the overall charge will depend on the loss or gain of electrons from the neutral atom.

For example, an oxygen-16 ion in a physics problem with a certain positive charge when in a magnetic field demonstrates that the charge of an ion is independent of its neutron number. The ratio of this positive charge to the charge of an electron should be an integer because charges are quantized; they come in integer multiples of the elementary charge of the electron.